Diabetes mellitus is a serious disease afflicting over 100 million people worldwide. In the United States, there are more than 12 million diabetics, with 600,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
Diabetes mellitus is a diagnostic term for a group of disorders characterized by abnormal glucose homeostasis resulting in elevated blood sugar. There are many types of diabetes, but the two most common are Type I (also referred to as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or IDDM) and Type II (also referred to as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or NIDDM).
The etiology of the different types of diabetes is not the same; however, everyone with diabetes has two things in common: overproduction of glucose by the liver and little or no ability to move glucose out of the blood into the cells where it becomes the body's primary fuel.
People who do not have diabetes rely on insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas, to move glucose from the blood into the cells of the body. However, people who have diabetes either don't produce insulin or can't efficiently use the insulin they produce; therefore, they can't move glucose into their cells. Glucose accumulates in the blood creating a condition called hyperglycemia, and over time, can cause serious health problems.
Diabetes is a syndrome with interrelated metabolic, vascular, and neuropathic components. The metabolic syndrome, generally characterized by hyperglycemia, comprises alterations in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism caused by absent or markedly reduced insulin secretion and/or ineffective insulin action. The vascular syndrome consists of abnormalities in the blood vessels leading to cardiovascular, retinal and renal complications. Abnormalities in the peripheral and autonomic nervous systems are also part of the diabetic syndrome.
People with IDDM, which accounts for about 5% to 10% of those who have diabetes, don't produce insulin and therefore must inject insulin to keep their blood glucose levels normal. IDDM is characterized by low or undetectable levels of endogenous insulin production caused by destruction of the insulin-producing β cells of the pancreas, the characteristic that most readily distinguishes IDDM from NIDDM. IDDM, once termed juvenile-onset diabetes, strikes young and older adults alike.
Approximately 90 to 95% of people with diabetes have Type II (or NIDDM). NIDDM subjects produce insulin, but the cells in their bodies are insulin resistant: the cells don't respond properly to the hormone, so glucose accumulates in their blood. NIDDM is characterized by a relative disparity between endogenous insulin production and insulin requirements, leading to elevated blood glucose levels. In contrast to IDDM, there is always some endogenous insulin production in NIDDM; many NIDDM patients have normal or even elevated blood insulin levels, while other NIDDM patients have inadequate insulin production (Rotwein, R. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 308, 65-71 (1983)). Most people diagnosed with NIDDM are age 30 or older, and half of all new cases are age 55 and older. Compared with whites and Asians, NIDDM is more common among Native Americans, African-Americans, Latinos, and Hispanics. In addition, the onset can be insidious or even clinically inapparent, making diagnosis difficult.
The primary pathogenic lesion on NIDDM has remained elusive. Many have suggested that primary insulin resistance of the peripheral tissues is the initial event. Genetic epidemiological studies have supported this view. Similarly, insulin secretion abnormalities have been argued as the primary defect in NIDDM. It is likely that both phenomena are important contributors to the disease process (Rimoin, D. L., et. al. Emery and Rimoin's Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics 3rd Ed. 1:1401-1402 (1996)).
Many people with NIDDM have sedentery lifestyles and are obese; they weigh approximately 20% more than the recommended weight for their height and build. Furthermore, obesity is characterized by hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, a feature shared with NIDDM, hypertension and atherosclerosis.
Obesity and diabetes are among the most common human health problems in industrialized societies. In industrialized countries a third of the population is at least 20% overweight. In the United States, the percentage of obese people has increased from 25% at the end of the 1970s, to 33% at the beginning the 1990s. Obesity is one of the most important risk factors for NIDDM. Definitions of obesity differ, but in general, a subject weighing at least 20% more than the recommended weight for his/her height and build is considered obese. The risk of developing NIDDM is tripled in subjects 30% overweight, and three-quarters with NIDDM are overweight.
Obesity, which is the result of an imbalance between caloric intake and energy expenditure, is highly correlated with insulin resistance and diabetes in experimental animals and human. However, the molecular mechanisms that are involved in obesity-diabetes syndromes are not clear. During early development of obesity, increase insulin secretion balances insulin resistance and protects patients from hyperglycemia (Le Stunff, et al. Diabetes 43, 696-702 (1989)). However, after several decades, β cell function deteriorates and non-insulin-dependent diabetes develops in about 20% of the obese population (Pederson, P. Diab. Metab. Rev. 5, 505-509 (1989)) and (Brancati, F. L., et al., Arch. Intern. Med. 159, 957-963 (1999)). Given its high prevalence in modem societies, obesity has thus become the leading risk factor for NIDDM (Hill, J. O., et al., Science 280, 1371-1374 (1998)). However, the factors which predispose a fraction of patients to alteration of insulin secretion in response to fat accumulation remain unknown.
Whether someone is classified as overweight or obese is generally determined on the basis of their body mass index BMI) which is calculated by dividing body weight (kg) by height squared (m2). Thus, the units of BMI are kg/m2 and it is possible to calculate the BMI range associated with minimum mortality in each decade of life. Overweight is defined as a BMI in the range 25-30 kg/m2, and obesity as a BMI greater than 30 kg/m2 (see TABLE below). There are problems with this definition in that it does not take into account the proportion of body mass that is muscle in relation to fat (adipose tissue). To account for this, obesity can also be defined on the basis of body fat content: greater than 25% and 30% in males and females, respectively.
CLASSIFICATION OF WEIGHT BYBODY MASS INDEX (BMI)BMICLASSIFICATION<18.5Underweight18.5–24.9Normal25.0–29.9Overweight30.0–34.9Obesity (Class I)35.0–39.9Obesity (Class II)>40  Extreme Obesity (Class III)
As the BMI increases there is an increased risk of death from a variety of causes that is independent of other risk factors. The most common diseases with obesity are cardiovascular disease (particularly hypertension), diabetes (obesity aggravates the development of diabetes), gall bladder disease (particularly cancer) and diseases of reproduction. Research has shown that even a modest reduction in body weight can correspond to a significant reduction in the risk of developing coronary heart disease.
Compounds marketed as anti-obesity agents include Orlistat (XENICAL™) and Sibutramine. Orlistat (a lipase inhibitor) inhibits fat absorption directly and tends to produce a high incidence of unpleasant (though relatively harmless) side-effects such as diarrhea. Sibutramine (a mixed 5-HT/noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor) can increase blood pressure and heart rate in some patients. The serotonin releaser/reuptake inhibitors fenfluramine (Pondimin™) and dexfenfluramine (Redux™) have been reported to decrease food intake and body weight over a prolonged period (greater than 6 months). However, both products were withdrawn after reports of preliminary evidence of heart valve abnormalities associated with their use. Accordingly, there is a need for the development of a safer anti-obesity agent.
Obesity considerably increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases as well. Coronary insufficiency, atheromatous disease, and cardiac insufficiency are at the forefront of the cardiovascular complication induced by obesity. It is estimated that if the entire population had an ideal weight, the risk of coronary insufficiency would decrease by 25% and the risk of cardiac insufficiency and of cerebral vascular accidents by 35%. The incidence of coronary diseases is doubled in subjects less than 50 years of age who are 30% overweight. The diabetes patient faces a 30% reduced lifespan. After age 45, people with diabetes are about three times more likely than people without diabetes to have significant heart disease and up to five times more likely to have a stroke. These findings emphasize the inter-relations between risks factors for NIDDM and coronary heart disease and the potential value of an integrated approach to the prevention of these conditions based on the prevention of obesity (Perry, I. J., et al., BMJ 310, 560-564 (1995)).
Diabetes has also been implicated in the development of kidney disease, eye diseases and nervous-system problems. Kidney disease, also called nephropathy, occurs when the kidney's “filter mechanism” is damaged and protein leaks into urine in excessive amounts and eventually the kidney fails. Diabetes is also a leading cause of damage to the retina at the back of the eye and increases risk of cataracts and glaucoma. Finally, diabetes is associated with nerve damage, especially in the legs and feet, which interferes with the ability to sense pain and contributes to serious infections. Taken together, diabetes complications are one of the nation's leading causes of death.